The American Future Fund is an Iowa based 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization affiliated with the Center to Protect Patient Rights, which in turn has reported ties to billionaires Charles G. Koch andDavid H. Koch.

American Future Fund was founded by individuals who worked for Mitt Romney‘s 2008 bid for the Republican U.S. Presidential nomination. Nick Ryan, an adviser to Republican US Representative Jim Nussle, founded the organization in 2007, with Nicole Schlinger, a GOP leader in Iowa, as its president. Its current president is Iowa Republican state Sen. Sandra Greiner.

The fund “advocates conservative and free-market principles” and energy positions that include support for drilling offshore and in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.

Activities

In 2010 the American Future Fund reported over 9 million dollars of independent campaign expenditures to the FEC, and 100% of its expenditures benefited Republicans.

In 2012 the organization funded ads supporting Mitt Romney‘s bid for the U.S. presidency. In the same year, it also funded ads attacking Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and in support of California’s Proposition 32, which would prevent unions from collecting political contributions as paycheck deductions.

The organization does not disclose the names of those who have provided its funding.

Okay. So I happened to catch a segment on CNBC just now (don’t ask; catching segments on CNBC is not quite part of my normal daily routine) that ended with an ad blasting Hagel for … um … a whole lot of stuff geared toward making people think he would have lots of conflicts of interest if confirmed as Secretary of Defense, even if he sells all those financial interests in defense contractor companies that the ad says he has, and in that company that invests in Iran, and stops flying on corporate jets.

At the end of the ad, the viewer is told that it’s sponsored by The American Future Fund. Which I couldn’t identify from memory, since the names of these organizations all sound alike. And are all very interested in America’s future.

But, having seen the ad, I now knew that Hagel would be a very dangerous guy to have as Defense Secretary. I just didn’t know who exactly he posed a danger to. But thanks to Wikipedia, I know now.

Sounds to me like Paul Ryan should have consulted the Koch brothers before he declared on Meet the Press last weekend that Keynesian economics has proved to be a failure. If you get my drift. Those oil and gas subsidies and defense contracts that the Koch businesses receive are important to our national defense … and to the economy.*